"They all do that Sir", usually within 200 road miles of a fluid change, have driven a 748 for twelve years with it and it does not affect the clutch performance. Ignore it . FWIW Ducati service book specifies the service check interval is every 1,000km and to change it every 20,000km

My personal experience with this issue, is that the standard fluid that is supplied by Ducati goes black pretty quickly on the clutch and goes darker on the brake side as well over time.

I have switched to Castrol SRF brake fluid for both clutch and brakes a few years ago, and after 12+ months of useage (I usually replace the fluids every 12-18 months) it is still more or less completely clear as new. I am also guessing that the heat cycles along with air access cause a coloration change without any function loss with some brake fluids.

could this process be slowed down by wrapping the clutch line in fire blanket and foil , behind the fairing down the side of the engine?
I replaced the standard clutch line with a Hell braided line around 400 miles ago and the clean fluid is now a murky grey colour, yes it still works fine but looks horrible.
chz

Subscriber

Normal it would seem, except my 916 which has an 'Evoluzione' slave cylinder that I fitted 18/19 years ago and that doesn't discolour the fluid.

Previous OEM cylinders did, I have an Oberon cylinder on the Monster and changed the clutch fluids in both over the winter. After just a few hundred miles the fluid in the Monster is as black as night but the 916 fluid is still golden - and was even before I changed it after a couple of years of use.

I don't know if it's contamination from chain crud getting past the seals, or what? but it seems not all slave cylinders do it...

My personal experience with this issue, is that the standard fluid that is supplied by Ducati goes black pretty quickly on the clutch and goes darker on the brake side as well over time.

I have switched to Castrol SRF brake fluid for both clutch and brakes a few years ago, and after 12+ months of useage (I usually replace the fluids every 12-18 months) it is still more or less completely clear as new. I am also guessing that the heat cycles along with air access cause a coloration change without any function loss with some brake fluids.

Click to expand...

Thats interesting to hear. All my Panigales have had the clutch fluid go black almost immediately but I've never had any problems with the operation. Would be nice if it was clear though!

Subscriber

Normal it would seem, except my 916 which has an 'Evoluzione' slave cylinder that I fitted 18/19 years ago and that doesn't discolour the fluid.

Previous OEM cylinders did, I have an Oberon cylinder on the Monster and changed the clutch fluids in both over the winter. After just a few hundred miles the fluid in the Monster is as black as night but the 916 fluid is still golden - and was even before I changed it after a couple of years of use.

I don't know if it's contamination from chain crud getting past the seals, or what? but it seems not all slave cylinders do it...

Click to expand...

Same here. STM evo slave, Hel clutch line and still clear after a year / 1000 ish miles.